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Stainless steel brake lines

Installing the lines themselves is not particularly difficult once any necessary bodywork is out of the way. However, flushing and bleeding the “whizzy” brakes after installing lines requires a specific process and sequence along with a couple of special tools. If you are familiar with that process and have done it before, fine. Otherwise, it’s a task best done by a dealer or technician familiar with the process.

Best,
DeVern
 
Whizzy or Not Whizzy...that is the question.

My past 1998 K1200RS did not have Whizzy brakes. It did have abs, just not the power assisted brakes.

Does your bike have the power assisted brakes that go 'whizzzzz' when you pull on the brake lever or step on the rear brake pedal?

I not, the process of replacing the brake lines is much simplified.

Correctly bleeding the ABS pump is another question.

Will a GS911 work on the 1999LT? Is there a computer connection plug under the bodywork by the battery?

If there is such a connection, then with a GS911 the typical backyard mechanic can do the bleed/flush IMHO.

If your system is the power assisted abs, i.e. the Whizzies, then there are specific steps to follow to correctly bleed/flush them.

There are a couple of web site videos that will explain the process.

I printed out a set of instructions that I keep handy for when I do our 2003 K1200RS's Whizzies bleed/flush.

On the K1200RS power assisted brakes there are 10 bleed/flush points: 1 on the rear; 2 on the front; 1 on the front master to the abs pump; and 6 on the ABS pump.

Also note there are at least two versions of the ABS pump with different bleed/flush procedures.

Whether or not you can or cannot do the swap out of the brakes lines, I highly recommend you do it or have it done!

Not only are they past due for a replacement (IMHO) the stainless lines give you a better feel as they do not expand like the rubber lines.

Good luck...
 
The first year in the USA for the power brakes on the K1200LT was 2002.

Yes, I missed that and was somehow thinking the bike was a 2009. That’s what I get for posting before coffee—my bad! The K1200LT used whizzy brakes from 2002 right up to end of production in 2009, long after that feature had been dropped from the other bikes.

I better go have afternoon coffee…
:)

DeVern
 
My past 1998 K1200RS did not have Whizzy brakes. It did have abs, just not the power assisted brakes.

Does your bike have the power assisted brakes that go 'whizzzzz' when you pull on the brake lever or step on the rear brake pedal?

I not, the process of replacing the brake lines is much simplified.

Correctly bleeding the ABS pump is another question.

Will a GS911 work on the 1999LT? Is there a computer connection plug under the bodywork by the battery?

If there is such a connection, then with a GS911 the typical backyard mechanic can do the bleed/flush IMHO.

If your system is the power assisted abs, i.e. the Whizzies, then there are specific steps to follow to correctly bleed/flush them.

There are a couple of web site videos that will explain the process.

I printed out a set of instructions that I keep handy for when I do our 2003 K1200RS's Whizzies bleed/flush.

On the K1200RS power assisted brakes there are 10 bleed/flush points: 1 on the rear; 2 on the front; 1 on the front master to the abs pump; and 6 on the ABS pump.

Also note there are at least two versions of the ABS pump with different bleed/flush procedures.

Whether or not you can or cannot do the swap out of the brakes lines, I highly recommend you do it or have it done!

Not only are they past due for a replacement (IMHO) the stainless lines give you a better feel as they do not expand like the rubber lines.

Good luck...

My two cents. First, yes stainless steel brake lines are superior in construction and life expectancy. Secondly, I don't think they will make much, if any, difference in feel on a power brake (whizzy) BMW. I say this because the whizzy brakes have four circuits. There are the wheel circuits from the pump to front caliper to the one to the back caliper. Then there is the hand control circuits from the front hand lever to the pump, and the foot lever to the pump. Because the pump works like a relay and an amplifier of your hand or foot pressure, you typically never get close to creating the pressure in the lines from the levers to the pump that you do in a non-whizzy brake design, so brake line expansion/flex isn't as much of an issue.

Another point to consider, is that BMW issued a service advisory to NOT install stainless steel lines in the wheel circuits (from the pump to the calipers) of any of the late '90's and early 2000's bikes with power brakes. They say that system was designed to into account the small amount of expansion of the OEM rubber lines and that stainless steel lines with their greater resistance to expansion could, under some conditions, create spike pressures that would trip the over pressure relief valve which reduces braking force to what I assume is a non-assisted state. This is not specifically addressed in the notice, but that would seem logical to me.

I actually called Spiegler about this and they claimed to have never heard of this service advisory (I have a copy) and have received no reports of any whizzy brake BMW having experienced such a failure. Nether have I, and I don't think this will stop me from installing the full Spiegler SS kit I have for my 2003 K1200RS. But, based on the feel of my power brakes vs. every other non-whizzy brake bike I have ever ridden, I'm not expecting to see much - if any - change in the lever feel.

YMMV :brow
 
<snip>
Another point to consider, is that BMW issued a service advisory to NOT install stainless steel lines in the wheel circuits (from the pump to the calipers) of any of the late '90's and early 2000's bikes with power brakes. They say that system was designed to into account the small amount of expansion of the OEM rubber lines and that stainless steel lines with their greater resistance to expansion could, under some conditions, create spike pressures that would trip the over pressure relief valve which reduces braking force to what I assume is a non-assisted state. This is not specifically addressed in the notice, but that would seem logical to me.

I actually called Spiegler about this and they claimed to have never heard of this service advisory (I have a copy) and have received no reports of any whizzy brake BMW having experienced such a failure. Nether have I, and I don't think this will stop me from installing the full Spiegler SS kit I have for my 2003 K1200RS. But, based on the feel of my power brakes vs. every other non-whizzy brake bike I have ever ridden, I'm not expecting to see much - if any - change in the lever feel.

YMMV :brow

I think I’d take that service advisory with a certain amount of salt. After all, there have been some notable clinker SIs over the years (“Introducing BMW #10 Grease”, the “Weep, Seep, and Leak” one, the “Crowned Road” rationale for early K-bike front tire wear, and so on.). Peel back the bodywork on the whizzy brakes and you find lots of steel brake lines with rubber used only at flex points like wheels and handlebars. On my ‘04 K1200GT, sidecar/passenger/luggage adds up to a real workload on the brake system, and even after engaging ABS a number of times with the Spieglers installed I’ve not had any issues with the ABS or boost systems. One huge advantage I see with the Spieglers is that brake fluid seems to stay cleaner, longer, and I don’t find microscopic black bits in the fluid when flushing the system.

But, as you say—YMMV.

Best,
DeVern
 
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